Founding session titled "The New Syria".. The Transitional People's Assembly begins the battle to draft the new constitution

The first session of Syria’s Transitional People’s Assembly was launched today, Sunday, in the presence of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and a number of government members, in a step paving the way for a new political phase led by the task of preparing a draft constitution for the country and laying the foundations for a democratic transition.

The council held its first session with the participation of 206 members, excluding representatives of Sweida province and one deceased deputy. The oldest member presided over the opening session, pending the later election of the members of the council’s presidency.

The formation of the council comes in accordance with the mechanism stipulated in the constitutional declaration, which granted President al-Sharaa the authority to select one-third of the members, in addition to a key role in choosing the remaining members.

In his address to the council, al-Sharaa called on members to be "a model of responsibility and competence," and to work to strengthen a culture of dialogue and entrench the rule of law and respect for institutions, stressing that Syria is entering a new phase in which it is writing a "new history."

As for the representation of Sweida province, no members from it were selected under the council’s formation mechanism, but President al-Sharaa named two members from the province to participate in the next phase.

The council is expected to play a pivotal role during the transitional period, foremost among its tasks the formation of a committee to prepare a draft of a new constitution, defining the features of the country’s next political system.